Christ

Christ / Messiah / Mashiach

It is no secret that the word we use for our redeemer; for our “Christ”, comes with issues. Foremost of these issues is the fact that the word “Christ” is a title, and not a name. This surprises many people! The word, “Christ”, however, is not the Messiah’s surname.

Furthermore, the Old Covenant word “Messiah” has been transliterated from the Hebrew, “Mashiach”, into the Greek, “kristos”/”Christ”. I truly wonder why the original text was transliterated from the Hebrew Mashiach, to kristos, and not simply translated to the more proper word, “Messiah”?

Translate -vs- Transliterate

According to Webster’s Dictionary, “Transliteration means, to change (letters, words, etc,) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.” To transliterate means to find a word that “sounds-like”.

To translate, on the other hand, is to arrive at a word with the exact (or near-exact) meaning.

Moving from Mashiach to kristos, therefore, is not a correct translation, and sadly enough, it is a very poor transliteration as well.

Changing Scripture?

Upon first reading the description of the word “transliteration”, the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up! My eyes immediately focused on the word “CHANGE”, and my heart sank into a prayer for guidance.

Is the word, “Messiah” too difficult for us? Is the word Mashiach too meaningful or intense for our use? I cannot locate the reasoning behind this incorrect transliteration. The word, Mashiach correctly went to Messiah, but then diverted to kristos / to Christ. Accepting Hebrew writings that are incorrectly transliterated into the Greek, are difficult for me to accept in their English rendering. These errors have caused many hours of painstaking study. I often wonder how many mixtures of other cultures or languages enter this process? In the case of this particular word, the Hebrew title ascribed to YEHOSHUA should be Messiah. It must be Messiah!

Furthermore, when He walked among us, He was called The MASHIACH (MA-SHE-AHH), not the Khristo’s, and certainly not the Christ. This is significant…

Babylon to Today

We already know that a great many things happened within Israel, and the world, before and during the assembly of our Bibles. History teaches that either the High Priests and Scribes of Yehudah (Judah), or the Septuagint, upon translating the Hebrew writings into Greek, changes were made.

Throughout history, many steps were taken to appease critics, or not offend other translators. Further, many things were even done to protect the Exalted Name from the heathen nations.

We lay no blame

It is not the intent of The Exalted Name Bible™ to point fingers or lay blame upon anybody, or any group of people, for whatever human translation errors might exist within the Holy Scriptures. Our goal with this work, is simply to make straight the way to our Master!

The Mashiach

Think of the word Mashiach (Messiah) as a Title, or better yet, as a position of immense responsibility. Clearly, He is every single bit of that!

Pronounced, (MA-SHE-AHH), you will find that word used properly throughout The Exalted Name Bible™. And Messiah replaces, “Christ” wherever appropriate.

As always, it is appropriate to use the word, “Messiah”, without connecting that word to His Name. With His Name present, however, you will always see Him presented as: YEHOSHUA HA MASHIACH… (YEH-hO-SHU-AH HA MA SHE AH).